Volume 7, January 27, 2011 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) FIRST TUESDAYS – INNOVATION AT WTBBL

2) LIBRARY LEGISLATIVE DAY

3) FREE GENEALOGY EVENT – BING CROSBY’S FAMILY HISTORY

4) WASHINGTON LIBRARY SNAPSHOT DAY

5) VIDEO CONTEST – ESPECIALLY FOR TEENS

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

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We in the “librarian” profession are always working hard to better ourselves. We read hundreds of books every week (at least!), we memorize data and statistics for kicks, and we constantly remind ourselves that “Wikipedia is not a primary resource, Wikipedia is not a primary resource …”

We do a lot, dear patrons, to educate ourselves on how to serve you better. Happily, now you can return the favor.

Ancestry Magazine recently posted an online article, “10 Tips to Becoming an Effective Library Patron,” and in it you can learn the hallowed secrets that will allow you to get twice the benefit out of your library in half the time. Mainly a tool for those who use their libraries for genealogical research, there are nonetheless some great tips here for any library researcher, such as:

1. Come Prepared
2. Use the Online Catalog
3. Learn the Library’s Classification System
4. Ask about Materials That Aren’t Catalogued
5. Go Easy on the Library Staff
6. Gather Handouts and Brochures
7. Go Beyond the Genealogy Department
8. Respect the Material
9. Don’t Forget Interlibrary Loan
10. Use All Available Resources

Want to learn more about becoming a better library researcher? Check out the full article over at ancestrymagazine.com (don’t worry, it’s free).

Many of Washington State Library’s series of events, including our evening and brown bag speakers events, are now available online via streaming video!

To find them, try searching the WSL catalog using keywords ‘Educational Outreach Event’ and you will find a list of events to choose from. From the search results list, you may choose to view the video, and in many cases may also view the flyer announcing the event.

These videos, along with our upcoming events, can also be found at: http://www.secstate.wa.gov/library/events.aspx.

Select from events such as: “Looking Like the Enemy: My Story of Imprisonment in Japanese-American Internment Camps,” with Mary Matsuda Gruenewald; “Mary Sam: Basket Weaver, Visionary, Provider, and Survivor,” with Harvest Moon; “Tracking Kurt Cobain Through Washington Vital Records,” with WSL Genealogy staff; or learn about Uppity Women, Lewis and Clark, Galloping Gertie, Ice Age Floods, and much more.

Thanks to the hard work of WSL’s Multi-Media Services for making these videos available to view online.